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Puget Sound Institute

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The Puget Sound Institute is a cooperative agreement between the University of Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Puget Sound Partnership, seeking to catalyze rigorous, transparent analysis, synthesis, discussion and dissemination of science in support of the restoration and protection of the Puget Sound ecosystem.

The institute brings together scientists, engineers and policy makers working on the restoration and protection of Puget Sound and provides expert advice based on the best-available science. Funding for the Puget Sound Institute comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which was appropriated $50 million for cleaning up Puget Sound, including $4 million for creating the Puget Sound Institute.

By design, the Puget Sound Institute will serve as the bridge between the scientific community and those charged with restoring and protecting Puget Sound. Among other activities, the institute will convene panels of experts to address difficult issues faced in restoring and protecting Puget Sound, much as the National Research Council does.

The independence of universities, combined with the unique academic culture of convening experts, puts us in a key position to provide elected leaders and policy makers responsible for the restoration and protection of the Puget Sound ecosystem with expert advice based on sound scientific information and principles.

One key institute activity will be to convene leading authorities from a diversity of disciplines to conduct commissioned critical reviews and evaluations, providing credible, consensus-based information to the Legislature, government agencies and other interested groups. The institute will also form working groups to synthesize the available science to identify opportunities for progress on specific environmental issues.